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Monday, December 8, 2008

Clay was standing at the fridge with the door wide open on Saturday. Joe asked him, "What are you doing?""I'm looking for something.""What do you want? Don't just stand there with the door open."Clay looked up at him and said, "I want some cheese.""OK, what kind of cheese do you want.""I want the mousie kind. The kind that mousies eat," Clay told Joe."Swiss cheese? OK, you just want some Swiss cheese for a snack?""No, I want to catch a mouse in my room," came Clay's obvious explanation.

Overhearing this, I leapt on a chair with lightning-quick speed and shrieked calmly asked, "Did you see a mouse in your room?!"When he stopped laughing at me, he said, "No. I want to catch one though."I wasn't getting off that chair until I was absolutely certain he had not actually seen a mouse in the house."Clay, did you actually SEE a mouse in your room?""No," he confirmed. I just want some mousie cheese so I can catch one.

So fast forward to last night when Joe said, "You know those tiny black bugs you noticed the other day?"I had seen a couple tiny bugs (like fruit flies) the other day. It's winter here, so it's just not a common site these days. I thought maybe they'd come with some fruit I had recently bought."Yeah," I said slowly, dreading what he was going to say."Well, I saw one in the boys' room. I think they may have a science experiment going in there." "Fabulous. Maybe Clay finally got himself a mouse," I replied sarcastically.

Fast forward to today, when I suited up in my level A hazmat gear and bravely entered the boys' room.

It actually wasn't too bad. I straightened up, pulled some things out from under the bed and behind the dresser and put a couple toys away. I didn't find any disgusting science experiments that had taken on a life of their own and were ready to take over the city. Kinda anticlimactic, huh? I know that probably wasn't what you were expecting. Me either. I did find this, however...

It's a pile of wrappers. There were also several dried up orange peels. Maybe Jackson was trying to make potpourri with those. I also found this...

An empty wrapper from some chips stashed in a closed box. But that's not all, oh no...

It's a goody bag of candy stashed in his sock drawer. And next to this was...

My old film camera in his underwear drawer.

Now, I know what you're thinking and I swear I DO clean in there more often than once a year. I make the boys pick up a little every day before bed and I usually clean it once a week (sometimes I skip a week). And I DO feed Jackson, but that kid likes to get up in the middle of the night and grab a snack. I don't think he does it in his sleep; he just gets hungry at night. I don't really care that he grabs a snack because he's so darn skinny. He probably needs it. I just wish he'd eat at the kitchen table and throw his garbage away! On the bright side, I didn't see any bugs (or mice) in there. Maybe one or two just came in with the oranges.

Anyway, since it wasn't too bad today, it only took me a few minutes to straighten up. Just long enough for Brooklyn to do this...

Toilet art - it's all the rage in these modern times. She also had time to do this...

I think it's a pretty good bubble letter "C". I just wish it wasn't on my door in permanent marker! The only reason I have a permanent marker is so Lexi's friends could sign her cast. It's going in the garbage now. Speaking of, here's a pic of her with her new waterproof, glow-in-the-dark cast. She goes back December 23 and will probably get it off then.

Back to my story about cleaning the boys' room. I'm starting to think Joe is onto something with his idea of putting them in a cement enclosure with a drain on the floor...

Did you ever see the hippos or rhinos shake their tails while they're pooping? It's like defense mechanism. It's gross. What would you rather have? Some wrappers in their room or the boys shakin' their tails as a defense mechanism every time you tried to go in to visit them?

I'm sure that with 6 kids you already know this but....nail polish remover takes permanent marker off all hard surfaces. Like the door, a kitchen table, the floor...yes, I am talking from experience! :-)

I can't wait until your book comes out. You crack me up. You probably know this but, Hairspray takes perm. marker off anything. How do I know this? Glad you asked... When my youngest (now 12) was 3 he was thrilled he knew how to make the letter 'J' and it went all over my walls, windows, white board, etc. So I learned then that hairspray is not only for styling and preventing runs in your stocking.

The Mr. Clean Eraser thing and acetone takes off permanent marker. Hope it helps! I am cleaning my boys' rooms today! However, they KNOW if there's any sight of food or wrappers in there they are in BIG trouble!

Umm... ROFL!!!! The things you find. I am so glad to hear that were no mice! I shudder when I think about my boys and what they will come up with in their time. Maybe I need to ask for a bathroom like that for mine. LOL!!!

nailpolish remover on the end of a Q-Tip. Will eat off the permanent marker. Learned this in college. Nail polish remover is some pretty nasty stuff. Careful it doesn't eat your paint also. That is why you use a Q-tip.

Good luck!!! My daughter 15 years ago got ahold of a pencil and used it to mark up the whole staircase in our new home. It took forever to erase it all. Try the nail polish remover first.

She is now a teenager.... Which requires almost as much patience as a two year old. Except she is bigger and can talk more.Good Luck---Angeleyes Blue from Albuquerque, NM

I haven't figured out why my boys throw garbage on the laundry room floor with their dirty clothes. They pass at least 4 garbage cans before they get to the laundry room. I finally found the bottom of the laundry pile this morning and asked my girls to clean up the floor in their before I get home. I have at least 12 more loads of clothes some little helper spilled in the attic to wash and put back in storage bins.

I have Six boys and I would love to have a bathroom with a wall of urinals and not only a drain but a fire sprinkler in the ceiling and a flush button outside the door. I'm thinking I would lock the six of them in there naked and they could all shower and clean the bathroom at the same time!Sheri F.

I haven't read the comments above,but if your door is painted with a gloss-type paint, if you use a dry erase marker over the permanent, it may come off. As a teacher I have students (and ignorant subs)use Sharpies on my white board all the time, and if I color over it with a dry erase marker, it literally erases the Sharpie! Since the door's already got writing on it, give it a shot. ;) Might be worth a try.

"You're a goofy kid, Brooklyn." "I NOT a kid, Mama! I a GIRL!" (Duh!) I stand corrected.

IT reminded me of the time I went to a friend's house after they came home from adopting a little boy in Mexico. He was being cute, and I called him a monkey. His response? "NOT monkey. BOY! You learn Engwish Amer!"

I would try the Mr Clean Magic Erase thing too. I use if and it usually takes things off. Your other option would be some Soft Soap. I guess the abrasive quality lifts the top layers off. I would try Mr Clean first.

I have had a horrible mouse experience... Right after I finished my time in the military I moved into an apartment with my oh maybe a month or two old daughter well we were sleeping on the couch under the covers and i kept feeling her moving (so i thought) well i moved the covers a bit to see what she was trying to move and it was a little white mouse with red eyes i freaked out i jumped up so quickly I almost dropped my baby so I immediately went to the apartment managers to tell them and they came and found the critter (i have chills just thinking about this) come to find out the neighbor to the left of me had a huge snake with a bunch of mice put in a cage you know to feed the snake well lets just say the mice didnt wanna be lunch so they escaped and well yep one made it to my apartment it was the worst I had a hard time even walking in another room my own shadow would make me jump on a chair ---sasha

Whoever suggested Mister Clean eraser... I'm so with her. In fact, I think I may stay home from running tomorrow (c'mon, freezing rain?) and instead get some cleaning done. Including of walls. I won't tackle the office though!

First time commentor, long time reader. Thanks for all the wet pants over the years. :)

As I was reading about the baby's latest canvas, my 2 1/2 year old daughter walked in. I showed her the drawing and asked what she saw. I though she's see the obvious. It's a toliet seat. No, she said, "ohh, look, a dollie! Pretty doll". Since we are toliet training, and i've got two older kids who love leaving canvas medium around (crayons, pens, colored pencils)...I had to point out the obvious toliet seat and tell her we don't draw on the potty. To which her answer was, "Potty? Yes, I'm going to the potty" Then she broke out into the potty song from "once upon a potty" the video. I don't know if you even read all the comments anymore Dawn, but thanks for the laughs. My mom and sisters wants me to be more like you because you put in less health updates on yourself and your kids than I do. Except the important ones, like broken bones. Those are call the entire family updates. Of course, to them I reply, if you have good enough health not to mention it, way to go! Thanks for a much needed break from my reality.:)

I love reading about your adventures in motherhood. I only have 2 kids and know the mess they can generate, especially the bathroom used by the boy (how hard can it be to pee in a toilet and not miss??? It's a rather big, round hole). I can't imagine the mess 6 kids make! Do your kids share bedrooms and bathrooms?

Melaluca "Sol-U-Mel" will take that marker off. My husband once spilled stain (for staining windows) on our WHITE pillars in our living room and it came off. Also used it clean Sharpie marker off my coffee table. Works wonders. Good luck.

Jackson is your ADD one right? My ADD child does the same thing. I'm always finding wrappers stuffed in her drawers, and she sneaks it all in the middle of the night too. The worst was the time she decided to take a carton of ice cream in the middle of the night and eat it in the closet. When she got full she left the rest there to melt. I found it as a dried out glob of goop, permanently stuck to the carpet. I can't tell you how many times I have told her "Eat whatever you want, just eat it in the dining room, not in your room".